It was a very low scoring affair in this game against the Everett Merchants, where six scattered hits was enough to beat the Honkers on a day where not much offense was going to be enough in this one. An early single by lefty Cameron Padron was the only hit that the Honkers would have the entire night, as the Merchant pitching was very effective all game. There was a lot of fooled batters in this one for the Honkers, as evident by the five strikeouts but the pitchers did a great job of getting the Honkers to put the ball in play, and the fielders seemed to make every play that was hit to them.

The Honkers offense was not at its best tonight, but Tanner Braun was still able to deliver with another quality start. It wasn’t Tanner’s best performance of the year, but he was still very effective in six innings of work only giving up three runs and striking out five and only walking two. Even with the start, Tanner’s ERA still sits sub two at 1.82, which paces the team. Closer Austin Pascika was also very effective in relief, as he threw three scoreless innings, and almost faced the minimum nine batters in three innings of work.

This was the right direction for the pitching, but if the Honkers can figure out their spotty offense, then they will be back to there winning ways. Good luck to the Honkers in there tournament in Grand Forks.

It was a great bounce back for the Honkers, as they were able to get the offensive outburst that they were hoping for in game two of the doubleheader. The Honkers exploded for 15 runs in the game, plating 3 quick runs in the first. This came from a Connor King single that scored Tanner Hardy, an RBI single by Kendall Yackley, and an RBI single from brother Jaden Yackley. This just got the ball rolling, and then in the fourth, Tanner Hardy drove in two with a two run double. The runs kept coming in the fifth inning when Kendall Yackley got the pitch that he was looking for and drove it over the fence for a home run. Then another single by Braydon Torres-Moore expanded the score to 8-0. Then all hell broke loose in the seventh inning when Benjamin David got the inning going by drawing a bases clearing walk and then Jesse Bechtold followed with another bases loaded walk. Then Tanner Hardy followed with an RBI single to keep the train moving, and then Connor King broke the inning open with a two run double. Then Kendall Yackley kept the inning moving with an RBI single of his own, and Cameron Padron had an RBI ground out that finally ended the inning. This seven run inning was the biggest output in one inning the entire year for the Honkers and was the 15 runs on the game was the biggest output thus far.

Slugger Kendal Yackley continues to rake this year, and has raised his conference play average to .417 paces the team and his three home runs also lead the team. Tanner Hardy was another standout, as his average has climbed to .429 in league play and has shown his ability to hit with power, hit for average, and run the bases very effectively while playing a solid outfield. The Honker offense has continued to get solid production from these two and it showed off in these games today.

On the pitching side of the ball, Dominic Miller turned in a great start with five solid innings, and only giving up 3 hits and one earned run. He also struck out four and was able to be very effective early on. The rest of the relief core was excellent for the Honkers, producing four scoreless innings, striking out six and only givng up two hits.

The Honkers ended the doubleheader on an great note and they look to keep it going against the Everett Merchants.

The Honkers got there doubleheader underway at Sammamish High School against the Sun Devils, and it was a pitching duel to the end, as start Warren Utschinski was able to throw a solid five innings, and only give up two runs, while striking out two and limiting the damage on the base paths, as he walked five batter but was able to escape without letting many of those runners come across to score. It was a very offensive short game, which has seemed to be typical in the seven inning shortened games of a double header. The four hits for the Honkers were spread out, and came from Peter Dudinakis, Logan Coe, and Tanner Hardy. Catcher Logan Coe has continued to be impressive in his time behind the plate, and has proven to be an offensive force thus far, as he went 2-2 and furthered his average to .310. This was the highlight of the Honkers offense through the shortened seven innings, as they weren’t able to do much with those hits, and couldn’t produce

The Honkers will look to get the offense going in the second game of this doubleheader at Sammamish High School.

It was a great game on all sides of the ball for the Honkers on Friday night, as they were able to put together an offensive outburst, backed by the best Honker pitching performance of the year in Blaze Hastings. The Honker offense was able to produce 11 hits in the win, backed by multi hit performances from Kendall Yackley, Cameron Padron, Zach Zurbrugg, and Chaz Lopez. It was once again another strong offensive outburst from Chaz Lopez, as the only thing missing in his quest for the cycle was a home run. The Honkers didn’t get there first run until the third inning, when Cameron Padron roped a single to score the Braydon Torres-Moore. Jordan Padilla was able to bring home two runners in the fifth with a clutch single, and then the Honkers were also able to push home two runs in the sixth via the walk and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. Then the offense began to explode, as they were able to plate five in the top of the 9th, and was highlighted by a bases clearing three run triple by Chaz Lopez. This was a great sight for the Honkers, and another solid day at the plate for Kendall Yackley kept his conference batting average at a high .409.

The most positive sight coming from this game was the absolute dominant performance from Blaze Hastings. He was absolute masterful in this one, throwing a complete game shutout , which featured 14 strikeouts, and only four hits given up. He was brilliant to say the least, and this was evident from the get go, as he struck out five consecutive batters over this first two innings, which showed that he was pumped up early on. He only continued to get better, and only allowed one runner to reach third base the entire game, and only gave up multiple hits in the same inning only once. Blaze was able to drop his season ERA to 2.70, which was a great sight to see.

The Honkers have an upcoming doubleheader on Saturday against the Kamloops Sun Devils.

The Honkers fell in a shortened game to the Highline Bears in a conference against the Highline Bears on Thursday evening. It was a game that saw the Honkers get out to an early lead in the first inning, as Cameron Padron drove in two in the first inning to put the Honkers on top. The Bears were then able to get one back in the second with a single from the six hitter Cody Chavis. The Bears were then able to take the lead in the fourth when starter Nate Butcher seemed to lose command a little bit, which led to multiple runs being scored in the fourth inning. Nate Butcher was the starter and he once again was able to use his dominant stuff to strike batters out, but he also struggled with his location and walked seven batters. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs through all eight innings, and was able to get through eight innings, and settled in quite well in the later innings.

On the offensive side of the ball, it was an average day for the Honkers as they racked up six hits in eight innings. They were carried by first basemen Cameron Padron, who racked up a couple hits, and brought up his average in conference play to .300. With a long frame, Padron has been able to use that length to his advantage, and has been able to spray the ball to all sides of the field.

The Honkers will take on the Bears Friday night and look to bounce back.

The Honkers weren’t able to finish the tournament with a win, but none the less they were able to walk away playing some good baseball that saw them once again out hit another team in a loss, which has become a sort of trend for the Honkers as of late. There was never any doubt that the bats were going to start rolling, and although they weren’t scorching, they were able to do some damage, but still left eight runners on base which proved to be costly.

The Honkers once struggled to hold the opponents in the first inning, as almost every game here in this tournament the other team was able to come out and take a lead early on. The same instance happened here for typical relief pitcher Dominic Miller as he was put into a starting situation and wasn’t able to get out of the first without giving up four runs, as saw that total climb to six by the end of four innings. His command got away from him, as he walked five batter and there was too much chaos on the bases for Miller. He will look to go back to his relief role, where he normally excels in. Warren Utchinski was able to put together another strong relief performance, as his tall frame has helped him contrl the zone and pitch down onto the hitter with force. He struck out four in only two innings to help keep the Bulldogs at bay in the later innings. He lowered his season ERA to 1.50 and the Honkers are lucky to have picked him up.

The Honkers head back home where they look to take on the Highline Bears in a double header on Saturday at Sammamish High School in Bellevue, Washington.

It was another rough day for Honker pitching, as typical team closer Austin Pasicka was assigned to start this game for the Honkers, and it didn’t prove to go so well, as evidence by giving up three runs in four inning pitched. Austin again struggled with his command, as his early pull came from the three walks that he gave up while striking out six. As per regulation, the second game in this doubleheader was a shortened seven inning game, and Bulldogs wasted no time getting after it, as evidence by getting three of Pasicka in the first inning.

The Honkers offensive production was very minimal, but standout Logan Coe was able to collect half of the Honkers four hits, and drove in a run with a long homerun. He has been seeing the ball great lately, and will look to get some more playing time anywhere on the diamond, as his bat has continued to stay hot and become one of the integral parts to this Honkers club. The nice day at the plate raised his average up to .275, but has been much hotter as of late. He will look to continue riding this streak, especially as the weather continues to heat up. Logan’s RBI total is now up to 11, which trails only sluggers Kendall Yackley and Chaz Lopez.

The Honkers will look to finish out the tournament strong, but up to this point have not quite been able to figure out the Bulldogs. Look for them to right the ship tomorrow.